This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

The tournament, a highlight for the California desert, starts today in La Quinta, California.

That’s where my wife and I live in the winter to avoid the rain and cold of the Pacific Northwest.

Sure, it’s been colder than normal here this winter and, in fact, there could be a frost delay for the tournament’s first round this morning.

Frost delays are different here than they are in Salem, Oregon, where we live for seven months of the year.  When there is a delay here, it’s often not possible to see frost on the ground.  But golf course superintendents err on the side of caution to protect “their” turf.

The tournament this year – it’s an unusual tournament because amateurs pay for the right to play the first three rounds, then the pros take the stage alone on the fourth day – features a raft of top players, the best field in recent memory.

According to Golfweek, 10 of the top 19 in World Golf Rankings have signed up to play.   That includes number two Scottie Scheffler and number four Jon Rahm, who won this tournament in 2018.

Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Will Zalatoris round out the top 10 players in the field.

I’ll be watching with interest, either on site at one of the courses in play for tournament, La Quinta Golf and Country Club, or at the others, the Nicklaus Private and the Stadium Course at PGA West, which describes itself as the “Western Home of Golf” – which it surely is.

One key difference for me this year is that I will be watching the tournament, not volunteering.  In the past, I have worked as a “walking marshal,” which means I got to walk around the courses with a group of players.  But walking 18 holes for four days is a challenge, so this year I decided to watch, not walk.

I also decided not to work as a “walking scorer.”  The assignment sound like fun – to walk along with players on the course and plug in their scores to a hand-held technology device.  Except that you have to plug in not just their scores, but every shot they hit on the way to the greens.  Doing for several players is a tall challenge, so I demurred.

There is a rationale for the work:  The inputs go on to tournament directors, rules and TV crews, so all know where to be and what to watch.  Still, whatever the rationale, a tall challenge.

One other difference this year:  Phil Mickelson, having left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf (I almost used the word “defected,” but avoided it) is no longer eligible to play on the PGA Tour, so one gig he has given up is designation as “ambassador” for the American Express.  Further, the defending champion, Hudson Swafford, also left for LIV, so no defense this year.

Should be a great event again.  In addition to golf, the tournament is an economic boon for the California desert.  Among other things, tournament organizers devote proceeds to local charities, including allocations to organizations that support health and wellness, youth sports, family support, education, and homelessness.

Since the tournament’s inception in 1960, the event has generated more than $64 million for non-profit organizations in the Coachella Valley.